WINHALL — A Chester woman was cited by police in the theft of $8,000 to $10,000 in gold and jewels from a house in which she worked, according to Sgt. Thomas Crowe of the Winhall Police Department.

January M. Nelson, 30, of Chester, was cited to be arraigned in Bennington criminal court on a felony count of grand larceny and possession of stolen property.

Crowe said the owner of a Winhall Hollow Road home in Winhall reported the items missing, including a large amount of gold jewelry and precious stones, on Sunday.

Police believe the items were taken Oct. 22 but no one noticed their absence until recently.

The homeowner provided police with photos of the missing items.

On Monday, Crowe interviewed Nelson, who had a home-cleaning business that included the Winhall home. Based on that interview, Winhall police officers recovered the stolen jewelry from locations in Winhall, Chester and Springfield.

Store owners identified Nelson as the person who sold them the jewelry, Crowe said.

Crowe was assisted in recovering about $4,000 to $5,000 in stolen jewelry from a location on Mattson Road in Chester by Chief Richard Cloud of the Chester Police Department.

Crowe said Nelson does not have a criminal history in Vermont.

The Winhall Police Department reminds homeowners to try to get photographs of any valuable property and jewelry so that if the items are stolen or damaged, they can later be identified and to check thoroughly the backgrounds of people working in their homes before leaving them alone or granting them access.